REVIEW – Savage Fire by Kathleen Kelly

Emily Reynolds, estranged sister to Dane Reynolds, President of the Savage Angels MC, has just lost her father. He was not a caring man and inflicted suffering on his family.

Dane abandoned her and her mother years ago, leaving them alone to deal with a brutal man who never showed any love or mercy.

Emily wants Dane to feel the pain she felt, she wants him to suffer as she did and decides to make the long drive to see him.

Salvatore Agostino, Captain in the Abruzzi crime family is also on his way to see Dane Reynolds. A ruthless business man, he is fiercely loyal to his family and his men.

A chance encounter brings him face to face with Emily.

These two meet and their attraction grows into a love that neither could have anticipated.

Will they be able to overcome the turmoil that awaits them or will their love be destroyed by forces beyond their control?

Kathleen Kelly returns to the Savage Angels MC with Savage Fire, Emily and Salvatore’s story. Emily is Dane’s estranged sister and her appearance back in town is just the beginning of an avalanche of drama the MC faces. I enjoyed the act of kismet that seemed to be Emily and Sal’s first (and second) meeting, their impending relationship appearing to be nothing short of fate. As they got to know one another, they broke down each other’s walls and dredged up pasts that proved to be insightful and character building. I was especially intrigued by the pieces of their lives that tied them together beyond their knowledge and provided plenty of opportunity for doubt and second-guessing to creep in and add a much needed emotional component to this novel. I especially enjoyed seeing more of Dane and Kat, their familiar sassy and sizzling relationship one of the true highlights of this book.

“Will you wait for me?”“Amare, I would wait for you even if you didn’t want me to.”

Instead of being told solely from the hero and heroine’s point of views, Kathleen Kelly gives many of the characters a chance to tell the story. While it certainly paints a complete picture of everything that is happening throughout the book, it also interrupted the flow of the story for me and detracted from my emotional attachment to the main couple. Some of the chapters from minor points of view even went so far as to feel totally unnecessary to the plot and it was in these moments that I had a hard time maintaining my interest in Savage Fire. With so many characters coming in and out of the picture and the author’s decision to include their view of things, I felt like I never got enough time with Emily or Salvatore before they were fading into the background again. For this reason, I never experienced their emotions as my own, connected with them, or found myself fully invested in their relationship the way I so desperately wanted to.

“Everyone around you does as they are told. It’ll do you good to have a little chaos in your life.”

Probably one of the best things about this book was the emotional development of Dane. Emily’s appearance in his town and the family history that unfolds because of it, added a lot to my understanding of this complicated man. While I certainly appreciated that fact, it was also a little off-putting since Savage Fire wasn’t really his story and instead I craved that kind of depth from Emily and Sal. I will say, I enjoyed the crossover of the MC world and mafia world (and even sometimes Kat’s rocker world). The web of players was quite tangled and the consequential intrigue of the overall plot is what kept me reading this novel. Kathleen Kelly definitely has the makings for a fascinating and action-packed MC series – interesting and complicated characters, a gossiping small town, and connections to both the mafia and professional music scene. I see so much potential in this book alone and, hopefully with some growth and development, I’m definitely curious to see how the rest of this series plays out!